01334333

Component

The braking performance of vehicles plays an important role in traffic safety and it is influenced crucially by the pavement frictional properties. Braking distance intuitively reflects vehicles braking performance. Providing a safe stopping distance is an important requirement in highway and street geometric design, a major component of which is braking distance. However, the effects of tire-pavement skid resistance on it are not reflected during the common method to evaluate the safe braking distance. This paper proposes an approach to determine braking distance considering pavement frictional properties via basic principles of mechanics and finite element simulation. Moreover, it also examines the relationship between the braking distance requirements of Design Specification for Highway Alignment and the skid resistance threshold adopted by Technical Specifications for Maintenance of Highway Asphalt Pavement. In the analysis, the variation of skid resistance with vehicle speed, tire properties and water film thickness are considered. The results of the study show that braking distance is affected by the above vehicle's operating conditions. As a result, it is of high necessary to maintain consistency between geometric design braking distance requirements and pavement friction management to achieve safe road operations.

01329018

11-1634

English

13p

2011

Transportation Research Board 90th Annual Meeting

DVD

Figures (7) ; References (10) ; Tables (5)

Asphalt pavements; Braking performance; Friction; Highway design; Highway safety; Skid resistance; Skid resistance tests; Stopping distances; Surface friction (Geophysics); Tires

Wet pavements

Highways; Pavements; Safety and Human Factors; I22: Design of Pavements, Railways and Guideways

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2011 Paper #11-1634

TRIS, TRB

Feb 17 2011 5:52PM